Improving Energy Efficiency and Motion Control in Load-Carrying Applications using Self-Contained Cylinders
Original version
Hagen, D. (2020). Improving Energy Efficiency and Motion Control in Load-Carrying Applications using Self-Contained Cylinders (Doctoral thesis). University of Agder, Oslo.Abstract
Because of an increasing focus on environmental impact, including CO2 emissions and fluid spill pollution, inefficient hydraulic systems are being replaced by more environmentally friendly alternatives in several industries. For instance, in some offshore applications that have multiple diesel generators continuously running to produce electricity, all hydraulic rotating actuators supplied from a central hydraulic power unit have been replaced with AC induction motors containing a variable frequency drive and gearbox. However, hydraulic linear actuators are still needed in most load-carrying applications mainly because of their high reliability associated with external impact shocks. Moreover, their force capacity is higher than that of their linear electromechanical counterparts. Valve-controlled linear actuators (cylinders) supplied from a centralized hydraulic power unit are standard in offshore load-carrying applications. In addition to the advantages mentioned above of hydraulic linear actuators, they have, nevertheless, a number of important drawbacks, which include: 1) a high level of energy consumption due to significant power losses caused by flow throttling in both the pipelines and valves, 2) reduced motion performance due to the influence of load-holding valves, 3) high CO2 emissions and fuel costs related to the diesel generator that supplies electricity to the hydraulic power unit, 4) significant potential for hydraulic fluid leakage because of many leakage points, 5) demanding efforts with respect to installation and maintenance, as well as 6) costly piping due to the centralized hydraulic power supply.
The work presented in this dissertation and the appended papers are devoted to replacing inefficient hydraulic linear actuation systems traditionally used in offshore load-carrying applications with more environmentally friendly solutions. Two alternative technologies are identified, namely electro-mechanical and electro-hydraulic self-contained cylinders. The feasibility of replacing conventional valve-controlled cylinders with self-contained cylinder concepts is investigated in two relevant case studies.
Has parts
Paper I: Hagen, D. Pawlus, W., Ebbesen, M. K. & Andersen, T. O. (2017). Feasibility Study of Electromechanical Cylinder Drivetrain for Offshore Mechatronic Systems. Modeling, Identification and Control, 38(2), 59-77. doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.4173/mic.2017.2.2. Published version. Full-text is available in AURA as a separate file: .Paper II: Hagen, D., Padovani, D. & Ebbesen, M. K. (2018). Study of a Self-Contained Electro-Hydraulic Cylinder Drive. 2018 Global Fluid Power Society PhD Symposium (GFPS). doi: https://doi.org/10.1109/GFPS.2018.8472360. Author´s accepted manuscript. Full-text is available in AURA as a separate file: .
Paper III: Padovani, D., Ketelsen, S., Hagen, D. & Schmidt, L. (2019). A Self-Contained Electro-Hydraulic Cylinder with Passive Load-Holding Capability. Energies,12(2). doi: https://doi.org/10.3390/en12020292. Published version. Full-text is available in AURA as a separate file: https://hdl.handle.net/11250/2648955.
Paper IV: Hagen, D., Padovani, D. & Choux, M. M. H. (2019). Enabling Energy Savings in Offshore Mechatronic Systems by using Self-Contained Cylinders. Modeling, Identification and Control, 40(2), 89-108. doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.4173/mic.2019.2.2. Published version. Full-text is available in AURA as a separate file: https://hdl.handle.net/11250/2648705.
Paper V: Hagen, D., Padovani, D., Choux, M. M. H. (2019). Design and Implementation of Pressure Feedback for Load-Carrying Applications with Position Control. The Sixteenth Scandinavian International Conference on Fluid Power (SICFP19) Proceedings, 520-534. https://trepo.tuni.fi/handle/10024/117427. Author´s accepted manuscript. Full-text is not available in AURA as a separate file.
Paper VI: Hagen, D., Padovani, D. & Choux, M. M. H. (2019). A Comparison Study of a Novel Self-Contained Electro-Hydraulic Cylinder versus a Conventional Valve-Controlled Actuator – Part 1: Motion Control. Actuators, 8(4): 79. doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/act8040079. Published version. Full-text is available in AURA as a separate file: https://hdl.handle.net/11250/2648587.
Paper VII: Hagen, D., Padovani, D. & Choux, M. M. H. (2019). A Comparison Study of a Novel Self-Contained Electro-Hydraulic Cylinder versus a Conventional Valve-Controlled Actuator—Part 2: Energy Efficiency. Actuators, 8(4): 78. doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/act8040078. Published version. Full-text is available in AURA as a separate file: https://hdl.handle.net/11250/2648238.
Paper VIII: Hagen, D., Padovani, D., Choux, M. M. H. (2020). Guidelines to Select Between Self-Contained Electro-Hydraulic and Electro-Mechanical Cylinders. IEEE Conference on Industrial Electronics and Applications. Author´s accepted manuscript. Full-text is not available in AURA as a separate file.